Christmas from A to Z
by Ringtailer720
Summary: 26 chapters for 26 letters of the alphabet, all dealing with the characters and different aspects of Christmas. Some funny, some introspective, and some fluffy. COMPLETE.
1. An RCO Christmas Carol

Trinity Blood Christmas from A to Z

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ideas in the following fanfic; they are property of Sunao Yoshida and assorted other sources.

This whole series is my attempt at associating each letter of the alphabet with Christmas in some way. I'm hoping to get at least a chapter a day up during the month of December. Each chapter will deal with a range of genres, chapter lengths, and characters from Trinity Blood.

* * *

**A**n RCO Christmas Carol 

The leader of the RCO was not inclined to be nice; the holidays were no exception. The black-haired Magician showed no surprise as yet another bumbling newbie met his end at the hands of his leader. He sat quietly reading his novel, ignoring the screams from his master's chamber. Dietrich also took no notice as he moved another chess piece in a game he played against himself.

Moments later a blood-spattered Cain opened the door. With impressive height, blonde hair, and captivating blue eyes, he looked nothing like the bloodthirsty monster he actually was.

"How many people insist on ignoring my 'no time off' policy, especially when it comes to Christmas?"

Both the Magician and the Puppet Master understood their leader's hatred towards the Christian holiday. The Catholic Church behind the holiday was one of the main forces that opposed him and his organization, and also the one his traitorous brother had decided to ally himself with.

"It is perhaps the most useless time of the year." The blonde commented before turning to leave. "Let no more of them in." He of course referred to the ones who continued to ask for time off.

Dietrich noticed Kampfer's shaking form in the corner of his eye and regarded the other RCO member cautiously. The Puppet Master looked at the title of the novel as the raven-haired man burst out laughing. What was thought of as a novel was actually a small book titled "A Christmas Carol", and was also the reason the older man was laughing.

* * *

Cain shifted in his bed hours later, finding no rest. He had no explanation for this, as he was neither hungry nor needful of anything else. He finally decided to pull out a book and read until he felt tired.

The book was, of course "A Christmas Carol", which had been set upon the night table by Kampfer, though Cain didn't realize this.

He hated the book. He threw it at the wall and delighted in the sound of the pages ripping from the spine. He was tired but couldn't fall asleep, and the fact that his insomnia had no cause further irked the RCO's leader. Not to mention the feeling of another presence in the room made his skin crawl…

He was startled to find a ghostly but familiar image standing right behind his chair, where he had sat to read.

"You!" He exclaimed, his face flushing in anger.

The redheaded Lilith, albeit as a ghost, looked at him with the same passive look she always had, even when he killed her. She looked translucent as a typical ghost would, and ghostly blood stained her dress from beneath the clean cut in her neck

"_I came to warn you…"_ she started to say, but he cut her off.

"Go back to being dead, you witch!" He growled out. She paused, and he assumed that she was planning her next words.

"_If you do not change your ways, your end will be horrible."_ She finally said. _"I have seen the terrible punishments which await people like you. If you do not heed my warnings, perhaps you will heed those of the ones to follow me." _

Cain snarled as he swiped at her with a clawed hand, meeting nothing but emptiness. The specter from his past had left.

"Good riddance…" he muttered, approaching his bed and ignoring the voice that cautioned him again.

* * *

Cain threw the covers over his head and growled loudly in the darkness of his room. Sleep still eluded him, and Lilith's appearance had done nothing to help.

Once again he felt like he was being watched, and pulled down the covers to see another translucent figure. If Kampfer was behind this, he would be punished…

A young ghostly Seth stood on the edge of the bed, a small smile playing at her lips. _"Hi Cain!"_ she squealed out, tiny pigtails bobbing a bit as she moved.

"Let me guess…" Cain prodded, "You're the ghost of Christmas past." The little black-haired girl laughed. _"No, I'm the ghost of your past."_

She pointed a finger at Cain, and the blonde found himself standing within the familiar corridors of the sterile space station. Two figures caught his attention as they ran past: one he recognized as himself as a teenager, and the other was…

"_Abel!" his teenage self called out to the silver-haired boy. His brother turned on his heels, a fresh bruise blossoming around his right eye._

"_Why should I do anything you say? You're their little lapdog anyway!"_

Cain watched the young Cain hold out a bag of ice to the other. The other boy swatted the hand away, his youthful face twisting in rage. _"Don't touch me!"_

"_You get hurt because you ask for it," the young Cain scolded Abel, "They hit you because you hit them first. Just because you hate them and their dumb traditions doesn't give you any right to attack them for it."_

_Abel didn't respond, though his face and eyes reflected it all. His expression was angry but his eyes sparkled with hurt. "You don't care about me, do you?"_

"_I do!"_

"_Then why don't you ever take my side?" With a last look, Abel slunk off to his room. Cain looked on with confusion as well as his own hurt._

"_Was this why you decided to destroy the world?" _

Cain turned his attention from the past to his ghostly sister. Seth gazed at the young teenager with a questioning look, and then directed another question his way. _"Would you like to see more?" _

Cain didn't answer her; he knew that she wouldn't take it into consideration anyway. He watched as the scene shifted to another where he and his brother sat within a living room. He held a glass of a thick red liquid in his hand, extending another towards the silver-haired man. They were both past their teenage years and, as Cain remembered, way past the infusion of their Crusniks and the Mars Colonization Project.

"_Are you really going to have Christmas with _her_?" Cain asked as his brother finally decided to take the glass from him._

"_Yes, I am. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and trying out this Christmas thing." Abel was refusing to look him in the eye, and had not yet had any of the blood in his glass._

"_I thought we'd agreed on an attack on Rome that evening? We said it would be the perfect opportunity while they wasted time celebrating."_

_Abel didn't respond._

Cain watched as the conversation between the two ended when the memory shifted into oblivion. He found himself back in bed, his little sister fading away in the dark. He sat back against his pillow. He tried to tell himself that what he had seen was due to his sleep-deprived mind…

* * *

When Cain finally awoke, he convinced himself that the later appearance of his teenage brother showing him Christmas at present was due to whatever the unfortunate vampire he fed from had in his system. His brother had apparently been celebrating the Christmas evening at a gathering of AX agents and friends. His brother had been happy and laughing as Cain had never seen him before.

Yes, the vampire had consumed some sort of hallucinogen before Cain had sucked him dry. Nevertheless, upon seeing that Christmas was still not over with for another twenty hours, Cain sat down and began to make out a Christmas card.

Abel might like a Christmas card from his brother after nine hundred years.


	2. Bells

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood is property of Sunao Yoshida, not me.

The second letter of the alphabet and the second day of December, dealing with Tres and his thought processes. It is much shorter compared to A.

**

* * *

B**ells

Tres watched as yet another person hung a few more bells on the door to their home. In actuality, he merely stored the information for possible later use and evaluation. He wasn't interested in the pointless customs of living creatures such as humans.

He was not built for social interaction; he was a battle android and that was that.

His processors deducing that all was clear, he left the area. His chocolate brown eyes stared abnormally unwavering towards his next goal, his analytical mind running over the data he had stored over the years on bells and their use.

As the eve of Christmas approached, humans began to adorn both themselves and their properties with round or cup-shaped bells. At first Tres inferred that they served a protective purpose, alarming the people to any enemies who accidentally disturbed the chimes. He eliminated that possibility, since bells on an individual served only to alert the enemies to your presence. Tres also noted the usual air of joy and happiness which radiated among the city dwellers; the bells might be signs of a person's cheerfulness.

Tres found fault with this explanation, seeing as how people also used bells for other purposes. The bells of churches and cathedrals and in the center of Rome used bells for mourning and when a great tragedy had occurred.

Apparently, bells served multiple purposes. They were a fashion accessory, as well as an indication of mood. Tres found this impractical and frivolous.

Tres would have grimaced at this thought had he been human. Bells seemed a part of tradition among humans, almost exactly the same as how his internal mechanisms ran his daily, weekly, and monthly routines. Since his routines were not frivolous, by association human traditions could also not be considered frivolous.

It all made sense to the brunette android, yet at the same time it didn't; one of many paradoxes which occurred often when he dealt with humans and their workings.

Tres decided to set aside this thought process for a later date; he needed to assist Father Nightroad in getting himself out of the fountain again.


	3. Candy Canes

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood belongs to Sunao Yoshida, and candy canes belong to the candy cane companies.

Day three involves the letter C.

**

* * *

C**andy Canes

He liked candy canes. Actually, that was quite the understatement; Abel _loved_ candy canes.

The fact that there were many kinds of flavors didn't matter. There were the traditional red-and-white striped peppermint ones, which were very good with vanilla ice cream. He didn't really care too much for the sweet brown and yellow butterscotch, or the sharp tang of the white and green spearmint, but they were both good in ways. Then there were the multicolored fruity flavored ones, each in a different color to correspond with the flavor.

But his most favorite flavor of all was the blue ones. Abel couldn't get enough of the blueberry candy canes, which alternated in different shades of such a pretty color. The only problem was that the blue dye used in making the candy had a nasty habit of staining the whole mouth blue.

This is how he had gotten yelled at on previous occasions.

Slipping quietly into the hallway, the silver-haired priest made his way to the lounge in order to "borrow" another one of these treats. He had finished his previous one a few minutes ago, but the Crusnik's effects or a late-acting boost from a sweet-tooth gene compelled him to get another sweet.

The lounge was dark from the late twilight from outside, and a single candle lit the entire room. The cost was clear and empty; no one would notice yet another candy cane vanishing off of the Christmas tree.

Abel reached for a candy cane, but he found none where one used to be. Upon further inspection, the priest found the entire tree devoid of all of the canes. No peppermint, no spearmint, and even no butterscotch. The last place he looked was far in the back, in his secret hiding place for candy canes that usually remained occupied.

He found something, though it was not what he had been expecting. A piece of paper, crumpled into the shape of a candy cane, hung on the branch in place of his beloved sweet.

"_I have taken off all of the candy canes and hidden them throughout the inside of the building, since you seem to have a nasty problem of eating them just as soon as they are on the tree."_

It was Esther's flowing script; he could tell even before he noticed her signature at the bottom.

He was indignant; she had no right to remove Vatican, or especially AX, property from its rightful spot. However, he noted a little note at the bottom of the wrinkled paper:

"_This has already been cleared with Her Excellency, Cardinal Caterina, as she is tired of replacing them every day." _As if to show the authorization, Lady Caterina had signed her own name directly under this notice.

He wanted a sugar fix. He had two options: find out where all the candy canes had been hidden, or find Esther and she could give him one.

There was a good chance that Esther wouldn't give him one anyway; then again, he had no guarantee of finding even one on his own…

…or did he?

* * *

It didn't take long for Abel to find the first candy cane, pinned via red ribbon to the front of Tres' cassock. The long-haired priest sighed; Tres must have been in on this as well. Abel thought up a quick plan of action and slowly approached the android.

"Hello Tres." He said as casually as possible, trying not to direct his attention to the peppermint candy cane on the other's chest.

"Father Nightroad," Tres stated, "As of 3600 seconds ago, I was instructed by the Duchess of Milan to deny access to the candy cane on my clothing. I was informed that you would attempt to obtain it by any means necessary."

Abel faltered. This was not going as planned. His oh so brilliant mind cooked up yet another plan: obtain as directly as possible.

His hand darted forward, intending to take the other priest by surprise, but had no luck; Tres had grabbed his arm and used Abel's momentum against him. Abel landed on his back behind Tres, the wind knocked out of his chest.

He lay there for a good few minutes, thinking up another plot to seize his prize. He finally saw his chance when Tres bent down to get a closer inspection of his fallen comrade.

"Status report, Father Night--"

Abel grabbed for the candy cane, but Tres was still much faster that him. Abel soon found his hands pinned painfully above his head.

"Cease and desist, Father Nightroad. You will not succeed in obtaining what you desire."

"But I want a candy cane!" Abel whined in protest. His only answer was in Tres pulling him to his feet and sending him off.

Painfully bruised and in need of a sugar fix, the silver-haired priest decided to go straight to the root of the tree on this one. He sought out Esther in the hopes that she'd give him what he wanted. He finally found her, reading a book on the couch in the lounge. She most likely had entered soon after Abel had left.

"Before you ask, Father, No. Go back to your room."

Abel, finally defeated and depressed due to his lowered blood sugar, slunk with tail between his legs back to his room.

His spirits perked up when he found a blueberry candy cane sitting innocently on his pillow.


	4. Doves

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood is the creation of Sunao Yoshida, and therefore does not belong to me.

Today's chapter brought to you today by the letter D.

**

* * *

D**oves

'_I wish I could be free like that…'_ The pope mused as he looked outside the window.

Alessandro XVIII, the current pope of the Catholic Church, sighed and continued watching the little birds—doves—flitter about on the freshly-fallen snow in the courtyard below. They were so lucky, not having to answer to anyone and not being yelled at for some reason or other. They could fly around and play whenever they wished. Alessandro couldn't even go outside without his siblings or entourage with him.

He was never allowed outside during the winter, except when he was expected at the churches for church festivals where his presence was required.

He turned his attentions back to his siblings, who were in the midst of arguing over him again. His half-brother Francesco shouted at Caterina, who dished it out as well as she received.

Alessandro turned his attention away from the two cardinals, choosing to look at the beauty that was nature. He noticed that the doves had been joined by Sister Esther and Father Nightroad, who were enthralled in a snowball fight with one another. The teenage pope could almost imaging hearing the screeches of excitement the red-haired sister made as she dodged the snow the Father threw at her.

Their fight continued until Esther sat down carefully in the snow, the silver-haired priest falling down next to her. Esther's body shook with laughter, and a smile decorated the priest's face. The pope watched as the two continued talking, the two doves flew towards them to land in the marred snow.

The birds of peace and the peaceful scene, compared to the constant verbal warfare in the room, seemed that much nicer to him.

Alessandro would have to see if he could get his sister to let him go outside later, and hopefully the Father and Sister would still be out there.


	5. Eggnog

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood belongs to Sunao Yoshida.

Today's letter is E. Short and hopefully funny.

**

* * *

E**ggnog

"Hey Sister, why don't you come here and give Ol' Leon a good smack on the lips?"

"I'll give you a smack, but not on the lips." The offended sister responded harshly, trying her best to scoot behind Father Tres for protection. The android turned his attention to the intoxicated priest, who wandered over towards the small nun.

"Father Leon, you have a BAC reading of approximately zero point one. Further consumption of alcoholic beverages is unadvised." Tres' monotone advisory failed to deter Leon, who still sought a kiss from poor Sister Esther. She resorted to standing behind the only two male AX agents left in able condition, Father William and Father Vaclav.

There were only two other women in the room; one was holographic and the other was the head of the AX. Both looked disapprovingly on as Leon continued his drunken shenanigans.

"Stop trying to molest Sister Esther, Father Leon," the Cardinal scolded, causing the burly man to focus his attentions on her. "You don't want more charges added to your list."

Abel, who had been knocked out of it by only a small amount of liquor in his drink, raised his head. He muttered something drunkenly about Leon not wanting to irritate a Crusnik by bothering his friend, and then fell asleep with his head resting on the table in front of him. His glasses were skewered at an odd angle on his face, a thin bit of drool dripping from his lips.

Leon turned his focus on Sister Kate. He was halfway through telling her what pretty assets she had when William turned to face Vaclav.

"Next time someone suggests we have eggnog, we should have Tres shoot them into the next country." The two AX agents continued to watch the raging nun chew Leon apart.

Vaclav couldn't agree more.


	6. First Christmas

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood is the creation of Sunao Yoshida.

F is such a unique letter to deal with…

**

* * *

F**irst Christmas

The front of the church, right near the pulpit, was spectacular. Though it was simply decorated with flowers and much white, the image was breathtaking. In front of the altar stood a group of people, who themselves stood around a hay-filled manger. One of the group stood out, a hologram who had changed her usual nun appearance into that of an angel.

The holographic angel looked disapprovingly at the fellow occupants of the church.

"Honestly, Father Nightroad! You're supposed to gaze reverently at the baby Jesus, not grope the Virgin Mary! Be a good Joseph!"

The "Joseph", draped in cloths, blushed bright red and sputtered. "I am not groping Esther!"

Esther, looking the part of the Virgin in soft blue cloths, looked upwards at the tall priest next to her. She held a small bundle in her arms. "I think unwanted physical contact is called sexual harassment, Father." She ignored his further complaints about her insinuations and turned to face the director, Sister Kate.

Off to the side, Fathers William and Vaclav stood in their own cloths, holding staffs and looking bemusedly at the whole exchange. The two shepherds looked back at Tres, who was dressed as a sheep. Something didn't seem quite right to them, though.

"Kate, I think we have an issue." William interrupted the nun, who was still scolding the bespectacled priest.

"What?" She demanded her anger and frustration showing through her words.

"Well," Vaclav began, "We have our Mary and Joseph, as well as the angel, shepherds, and sheep, but we don't have our three wise men."

"What!" Kate cried out. "We can't have a play on the first Christmas without the wise men."

"If I might make a suggestion—"

"Can it, Nightroad!"

Esther set the bundle down in the manger, and looked over at the first pew in the church. "To be fair, Father Leon is playing one of the wise men." Sister Kate stopped her panic attack to peer at the convict sleeping on the pew.

"He hasn't done a thing yet!"

"We can always improvise." Abel spoke up. Before anyone could say anything, he had taken off his shoe and sock. He put the sock on his hand and drew eyes on it with a marker he pulled out of his pocket.

"Right, Mister Sock King?" He asked the sock.

"Sure thing, Father Abel!" He made the sock say. Everyone stayed silent, and everyone but Tres took a step away from the silver-haired priest. Uncomfortable silence followed for a long few minutes.

"Father Nightroad, it is unsanitary to put your bare foot on a public floor." Tres stated, looking out of place in his fluffy white costume.

"Abel has a point, though." William mused. Kate looked murderous. "Are you saying we should all take off our socks and use them as hand puppets?" She questioned and demanded at the same time.

"What else can we do? Even if we use only one shepherd, we're still missing one Wise Man." William defended. "What we need is one more person to play a king."

"But where do we find someone to do that?"

A long silence ensued, while Abel finally put his sock and shoe back on. Then, nearly everyone had the same idea at once.

* * *

The night of the pageant, things were going great. To Kate's elation, no one screwed up their lines, and Joseph kept his hands to himself. She stood off to the side of the Virgin, giving the angel's speech while the shepherd William and his sheep Tres approached the "baby" in Esther's arms.

Vaclav and Leon, each carrying "gold" and "frankincense" respectively, followed them not too shortly after. They said their lines, presented the gifts, and then stepped back to admire the baby.

Brother Petros, face shining with pride and dressed as the final king, approached the "manger" and presented "myrrh" to the Virgin and Child.


	7. Gingerbread Cookies

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Gee, what could my next letter be? I wanted to make this a bit introspective, but it started going on a fluff tangent.

**

* * *

G**ingerbread

Esther dusted some of the flour off of her hands, and then carefully took the ball of dough from the bowl. She set the ball on the countertop, picked up a rolling pin and flattened it out. The smell of ginger wafted into her nose, making her sniff and her eyes water.

_Truthfully_, she thought, _the watery eyes are due to something quite different than ginger._

The smell of the cookies brought back bittersweet memories of a church in Istvan, and the bishop who had treated her like a mother.

_Bishop Laura…_ Esther carefully wiped her eyes on her sleeve and pulled out a cookie cutter.

_She taught me how to make perfect gingerbread._

* * *

"Do you know what else I put in these cookies to make them perfect?" Bishop Laura Vitez posed the question to the little girl standing on the chair next to her. Both were covered in puffs of flour, smiles on their faces.

"What?" Esther asked the mother-figure.

"You have to promise not to reveal my secret to anyone, except for the person you find to be the most reliable, and no one else."

The little redhead nodded in agreement, and the bishop bent down near the small girl's ear.

"Love," she whispered. "You must feel love in your heart. Only then will the cookies taste absolutely perfect."

* * *

Esther finished cutting out the patterns, an assortment of trees and people lining the surface of the tray in front of her. She brought the tray over to the oven and checked on the progress of the other cookies.

She sat back and waited, having exhausting her whole supply of flour on the last batch.

Her last Christmas in Istvan had been spent nearly a month after the bishop's death, and the only one she had to share the secret with was Dietrich, but he was not at all interested in making cookies or the secret behind them; which turned out to be very fortunate for her and the secret.

Because of that, and the sorrow and bitterness in her heart from the good bishop's death, that year's gingerbread ended up not as good as the way she and Bishop Laura had made them.

Esther swatted away a hand from taking one of the raw gingerbread. The hand's owner squeaked and pulled it back.

"They aren't done yet, Father."

Esther almost laughed at the cute expression on Abel's face as he practically begged for a cookie with his eyes. "You can have one that comes out of the oven soon."

As if on cue, the timer rang and Esther wasted no time in getting the batch from the oven. She brought them over to the counter to decorate, but not before the silver-haired priest grabbed one off the tray.

"Father! It's still hot!" She scolded.

"I can't help it. You make the best gingerbread I've ever had." She blushed faintly at the comment before she drew smiles on all the little gingerbread men. The priest had taken a more direct approach, slathering on the frosting on the cookie before taking a bite.

His reaction was positive. "What is your secret?" He asked before taking another bite.

Esther took her own gingerbread and took a bite. "You must feel love in your heart. Only then will the cookies taste absolutely perfect."

This year, her gingerbread tasted better that the bishop's.


	8. Holly

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida. The info on the holly can be found online.

Here's letter H. The story behind the holiday tradition reminds me of a certain two siblings…

**

* * *

H**olly

Asthe never understood her Empress well at times, so it was not unusual that she didn't understand the woman well now.

She had asked the young-looking woman as to why she wanted holly hung about the palace in the dead of winter, but Augusta seemed to not notice that the duchess had questioned her on the odd request. The Earl of Memphis, Ion Fortuna, had merely told her to follow the Imperial command without argument.

She wasn't questioning Her Highness; Asthe was only curious as to _why_ the Empress requested such a thing done.

The Duchess of Odessa shrugged and went off to fetch the requested evergreen plant, hoping to find someone to ask about the supposed Terran custom.

She found out that holly was a popular decorative plant around Christmas, a Terran holiday, while waiting for the shipment of holly to be brought to her. She breezed through the magazine that explained some of the Outer Terran traditions and customs, such as mistletoe and Christmas trees. She wondered with some disdain as to why the Terran would want to put a dying tree in the middle of their house or kiss under a stupid plant.

She purchased the holly and the magazine, hoping that the holly would be further explained somewhere in the publication.

* * *

The magazine mentioned little else on the subject of holly, but Asthe kept the periodical in the hopes that she might have the information if her Empress desired more Terran customs.

As she and Ion decorated the imperial palace with bows of holly, she realized that she could possibly learn more about the custom from none other than a Terran. Both she and Ion had contacts with the Outers, and one or both of them could have the information she wanted.

"Say Ion, I have a little favor to ask of you…"

* * *

Asthe opened the desired letter a few days letter, eagerly awaiting whatever info Abel had given her. She was not disappointed when his elegantly-written letter described in detail the tradition.

_The Celts (a people who existed long before Armageddon) believed that there was a war between two twins, one a king of oak trees and the other a king of holly. The twin of holly seemed to have the edge during the winter, because the type of holly in the area was evergreen. But the oak twin gained in power when the seasons changed and summer came about. The kings began to lose power immediately after victory over the other seemed the most sure. _

_The people found a type of hope in a time of desperation and cold from the evergreen holly plant, and that's why it had influence; it was believed to have a magical quality to it._

_The Romans (another pre-Armageddon people) used holly during the Saturnalia, a holiday that took place right around the present Christmastime. So the plant's usage during the Saturnalia was integrated into the Christmas holiday._

_The plant is a symbol of hope and new life, and that's why it is so used during a time of hope (such as Christmas) or despair (such as the middle of winter). _

Asthe quickly read through the rest of the letter, setting it aside while she wrote an appropriate response. She would not be needing Ion's favor after all.

* * *

Within her room, the Empress was indeed thinking along the same lines of her brother. Seth smiled softly at the gentle symbolism the holly plants held, and felt that in a time of troubles and nearly-impending warfare, the plants might offer some hope towards her people. _That is_, she thought, _if they're willing to learn the symbolism. _


	9. Ice Skating

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Today's letter is I.

**

* * *

I**ce

Esther didn't like ice at all.

She knew that people from all over the world loved to strap on a pair of ice skates and have a good time sliding around on the frozen water. She knew from her talks with Ion that the noble himself was an avid skater, and many of her fellow AX agents skated whenever they had the time during the winter. She just didn't like to herself.

Esther mentally kicked herself for allowing Ion to talk her into going skating with him.

He took her to a pond he used on his property during the winter, and the two of them proceeded to put on the required skates while sitting on a bench the Earl had placed there. The redheaded nun took as long as she possibly could to tie the laces on, allowing the Methuselah to go on ahead and begin skating without her. She was content to watch as he seemed to dance about the ice in beautiful patterns and motions.

A small voice inside her head warned her that he was just showing off for her, but that thought was cut off when Ion skidded to a stop.

"Aren't you going to skate with me?" She would have replied no, but Esther was not the type to turn down a friend like that. She carefully edged towards the pond and stepped forward. She then proceeded to show Ion as to why she was so reluctant to go skating with him.

She fell flat on her butt, the young Earl rushing over to her side to help her to her feet. Esther wobbled unsteadily, her feet threatening to slide out from under her, and her face was as red as her hair. Ion never relinquished his hold on her arms.

"So…you can't skate?" He asked reluctantly, not wanting to upset his obviously embarrassed friend. She shook her head, still blushing.

"I'll teach you how then." Ion stepped backwards carefully and gripped Esther's hands with his own. He pulled her along gently while instructing her on the proper movements of her feet. Several times she fell over, and several times she also pulled the Methuselah down with her. At one point Esther had managed to stay up, only stopping when she landed in a snow bank.

Each time the young noble remained patient, and soon both were laughing at some of the incidences the nun had on the ice.

They spent several hours more at the pond before returning to Ion's house, and Esther assumed that she would no longer have to deal with the ice anymore. Or so she thought.

* * *

Both she and Father Abel had been deployed to the area on a joint mission dealing with one of Ion's fellow earls. Since she knew how Abel seemed to dislike work, she wasn't surprised to receive a transmission early one morning from Kate that the silver-haired man had shirked his duties for that day. Esther had little time to reflect on this before Ion had dragged her back to the pond for more skating lessons.

There she found the truant priest, an avid skater himself, sliding about the ice doing remarkable spins and other showy stunts.

"Father Nightroad," she taunted, "Sister Kate is dying to talk to you right now, and she wont take no for an answer.

The priest, startled, fell to the ice. He winced and walked back towards the home, not before looking back at the pond and the two who were on it.

"What were those things he was doing?" She questioned the nobleman. Ion turned back to her. Red eyes looked into blue.

"He did a few Lutzes, Axels, and a few spins. Usually a person has to be very talented or good to do stuff like that."

"Oh." _Now_ she was positive that he was showing off to her. In fact, Abel seemed to have been showing off to her too.

* * *

When the mission had been complete, she went home with more that a few bruises, but a new appreciation for ice skating and her friend. 


	10. Jelly

Disclaimer: Sunao Yoshida created Trinity Blood.

Yet another RCO centered chapter.

**

* * *

J**elly

"Where is Dietrich with my cranberry jelly?"

Kampfer couldn't agree more with the question his leader had asked; Dietrich had been gone for over an hour. Surely fetching Cain his beloved jelly wasn't too difficult, was it? The Magician decided that he had to go settle things himself before the Crusnik began taking his anger out on innocent recruits again...

...ok, so that wasn't such a good excuse, as Kampfer fully enjoyed watching all the bloodshed and carnage. But Dietrich was his protégé, and Cain would not be so forgiving to him if said underling were to ignore his demands. Even if Kampfer was the secret behind Cain's "spiffy" new body.

As he walked down the hallway, the Magician couldn't help thinking that if he were truly goodhearted, and put more effort into it, he could give Cain a fixed body and call it a belated Christmas present. However, he was lazy, and he was smart enough to realize that once his leader had gotten what he so desired, Kampfer was as good as dead.

And a true member of the RCO always looked after himself before anyone else.

Kampfer wandered around the small village, hidden behind a trench coat and wide-brimmed hat. As luck would have it, he quickly found the young Puppet Master standing in line at one of the shops selling the cranberry jelly.

"What in the seven hells is taking you so long?" He muttered in the boy's ear, causing the brown-haired youth to turn his attention to the raven-haired man.

"I'm waiting in line to go buy this." He answered, matter-of-factly.

"For an hour?" Kampfer hissed. Dietrich smirked.

"You do know how Master Cain likes a certain brand of cranberry jelly? His brand was all out, so I had to go take out a little kid so I could steal his jelly."

Kampfer shook his head, hardly believing what he was hearing. "You mean to tell me that you can kill a little kid, but you can't even cut to the front of the line?"

"Well..." Dietrich trailed off, "I didn't kill the kid. I just made him wet himself and run off screaming. But I can't cut to the front of the line right now."

The Magician growled under his breath, grabbing Dietrich's hand and pulling him all the way to the front of the line. Several people complained loudly, the most obvious one being a little old grandmother at the front of the line.

"Excuse me, young men, but you're being very rude--"

"Go take your fiber, old lady!" Kampfer snapped. He turned back to where Dietrich was waiting patiently, and was hit in the back of the head by something hard. He turned around in time to get a cane right in the nose. Stars swam in his eyes and blood gushed from his broken nose. Dietrich took the time to retreat to the back of the line again.

"I'll teach you, young man!"

The cane rained down on him continuously, the old lady stronger that one would expect. If Kampfer hadn't been in so much pain, he would have guessed that she was a descendent of an enhanced soldier.

Kampfer had resumed his spot next to Dietrich. One eye was swelling shut, and the other one was turning a horrible shade of blue. Dried blood was smeared along the front of his face and coat.

"Why did you not help me, Puppeteer?" He growled.

Dietrich flashed him another grin. "I have to look after Master Cain's precious jelly."

He used excuses like a pro. Kampfer would have to remember that when he was maiming him later.

"It is about time!" Cain huffed and grabbed the jar of jelly from Dietrich, looking over at the Magician. "What happened to him?"

"Just the usual angry holiday grandparent shopper." The brown-haired boy remarked, wincing as he caught sight of Kampfer's eyes glinting angrily. Cain stood by, eating his cranberry jelly while watching Dietrich get dragged away by a rabid Kampfer.

"This is good cranberry jelly. Not as good as Lilith's, but it will do."


	11. Kris Kringle

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Today's letter…it was really difficult to get started on this one.

Just a head's up: I've taken a small liberty with the estimations of everyone's ages. So they're somewhat accurate if one assumes that Seth is four, Abel and Cain are about fourteen, and Lilith is in her late teens or early twenties (since I have yet to run across her birth year).

**New notice:** For some reason, I could not get this chapter posted on time. I'm sorry for the lateness, but the error messages kept popping up.

**

* * *

K**ris Kringle

There was no respite from the pounding headache that threatened to rip apart Abel's head as he attempted to read his assignment for the next day's class. There was also no escaping the voices floating over to him from a nearby corner. Sometimes, his "family" drove him nuts.

"Would you mind? Some people still have assignments left to do." He growled, frustration evident in his young voice.

The three others turned their focus his way. His two siblings, Seth and Cain, sat on pillows in front of Lilith, the oldest girl holding a picture book in her hands. She smiled softly, red hair falling into her face when she shifted her head to get a better look at him.

"I'm sorry if we'd disturbed you, Abel." Despite all of his complaints, Abel could never stay mad at the redheaded girl for long.

"It's okay. It was a boring point in the story anyway."

He resumed his staring at the book, though his mind focused on what the other three were talking about. Apparently, Lilith was telling the others about the human's Christmas holiday, as well as the characters associated with it.

"This guy is called Santa Claus by many people, but he has many other names too; Kris Kringle, Saint Nicolas, Saint Nick are the most prominent names. Many children believe that if you've been good, Santa will bring you presents in a sleigh pulled by eight or nine flying reindeer on Christmas Eve."

Abel snorted at the absurdity of the story. Since when did reindeer fly?

"Is something wrong?" Abel turned in his seat to look at the woman in her late teens. The book was open, and a picture of a fat man in red covered the page, his genial smile partially hidden by a thick white beard.

"I find it very difficult to believe that reindeer can break the laws of physics and the laws of nature to fly." Abel commented. "Also, why would some old fat dude bother to take the time to deliver presents to snot-nosed little brats?"

Lilith shifted a bit in her seat, her face calm. "Some people are just nice, Abel."

Abel shook his head. "No, they are not! All people are selfish!"

"Not this argument again!" Lilith huffed, her body shifting into a more imposing form. It was as if she had heard the same dialogue over and over again before. "If you don't like the story, that's fine, but please don't ruin it for your brother and sister."

The silver-haired youth sat back in his seat, anger still etched in his face. He wouldn't be finishing that book now; he wanted to wait and tear apart every little error in Lilith's story.

The redhead had turned back to the other two, who still sat patiently for the eldest to continue. "Santa is helped by his elves, who make and deliver the toys with Santa."

Lilith turned the page so the others could see the little elves working in Santa's toy shop.

"Where does this Santa Claus live and work, exactly?" Abel questioned. The redhead lifted her head. "He lives at the North Pole with his wife."

Once more the youth found another error. "No one can live at the North Pole. There's no land at the North Pole."

Something in Lilith's normally calming eyes made him snap, his own eyes blazing with blue fire. "Don't you dare give me that look! Santa isn't real; he is just a creation by parents to keep their kids in line, and the marketing industry to make money! No one brings presents to children on Christmas!"

Abel picked up his book and stormed off, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes; his own now sparkling with tears of anger and sadness. No one had ever brought presents at Christmas to him, even when he used to behave.

* * *

The delicate form lay unmoving beneath the enforced glass, as a splash of tears hit the transparent material. If only he had remained to listen to the story of Santa, or not run his mouth off so much over a dumb story. If only he hadn't crushed the hope in Seth and Cain. Lilith might have still lived. 

Abel cried alone that Christmas.


	12. Lights

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

The next chapter of Christmas: L. This was posted at a later date than planned due to a bad link, apparently.

**

* * *

L**ights

He had his orders and he was determined to complete them, even if it killed him. For he was Petros, and Petros was a determined man.

He was always willing to do as the Cardinals of the Church requested of him, the most prominent being Cardinal Caterina. She had sent him on a variety of missions, such as tackling the impossible clog in the bathroom drain, or dealing with the feral dust bunnies in the closet, and he dutifully undertook them, despite not being directly under her department's jurisdiction.

He opened up the box of candles and set to work, readying the cathedral for the next Advent service. They were beautiful blue and just perfect for the church.

Petros opened up box after box, going about from candelabrum to candelabrum and putting the candles in a row; he sang one of the many Christmas tunes he could think of as he set up. He did notice when the color switched, and he looked in horror at the purple candle now in his hand. He set the candle down and searched the box, then all of the rest of the boxes, only to find purple candles in each one of them.

Petros panicked, invoking the powers of the lord and asking him why there were no more blue candles left. He seemed to be thinking for a bit before finally receiving a stroke of genius.

Petros removed the blue candles and repositioned them so that there were an equal number on each side of the altar. Then he proceeded to put the purple candles in on each side so there was an equal number.

Once again he was at a loss for words when there were not enough candles for the candelabrums. He checked each of the boxes again, dismayed when they all turned up empty. He sat down heavily in the front pew, many thoughts running through his head.

He didn't want to upset or disappoint the Cardinal, and thereby invoking the wrath of God, by neglecting these empty candlesticks. He thought about removing the evidence and pretending that he had no clue where the offending candlesticks had spirited off to. But that was dishonest, and the lord would frown upon such dishonesty.

Besides, he was Petros, and Petros always did as the Cardinals instructed him to do.

* * *

Father Tres stepped down the hallway, when he began to hear the fast approach of footsteps. Within minutes, the android component of the AX had one of his guns pointed directly in the face of the now-pale Brother Petros.

"Requesting answer: Where are you going, Brother Petros?" The priest asked, replacing the gun in its holster.

"I want to know where I can find some blue or purple candles." Brother Petros stated, standing impressively in front of the AX member. "I was asked a request by Cardinal Caterina to decorate the cathedral in the center of Rome."

Tres' eyes stared down the Brother before replying. "New orders have been issued. That cathedral you have been decorating is set for demolition by the church, and has been for the past two months."

* * *

Upon receiving his new assignment from Tres, and obtaining the needed candles, Petros finished setting the final candle in its place next to the altar. He sat back into the pew just as Sister Paula ran in.

"There you are! Where have you been? You have just missed the biggest chance to capture a bunch of vampires who managed to use some anti-UV gel to infiltrate the area!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Cardinal Caterina dismissed Asthe and Ion, who were staying for the Christmas celebrations, and turned back to a waiting Father William.

"So, you sent him on one of your 'impossible and life-threatening' missions again?" The Professor asked, smirking around his pipe. The Cardinal returned his smirk with one of her own.

"It certainly keeps Petros out of our hair for a while. Honestly, the Inquisition attacks anything that moves without getting the facts straight."


	13. Mistletoe

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Next on the list is M.

**

* * *

M**istletoe

It was a real sight to see.

The doorway had been adorned with mistletoe for the approaching party the AX was having on Christmas Eve, one in which the Earl of Memphis and the Duchess of Odessa were invited to as well. Father William had assumed that at least they could expect a little entertainment from the little plant when he placed it there. On Christmas Eve, William's assumption came true.

Esther and Abel had retrieved the Earl and the Duchess from their carriage, and had led them to the party room. Asthe walked gracefully in by herself, quickly obtaining a glass of punch and sitting down between Fathers Vaclav and Hugue. Then the problem arose, and the Professor's words came to the front of everyone's minds.

Since the doorway was large enough to allow at least three people to enter at once, the Earl, the nun and the priest all chose to walk through the door at once.

All eyes instantly fell upon the three, who looked upwards to where everyone's gaze was focused.

A branch of mistletoe hanging tantalizingly above the three.

Esther and Abel shifted nervously, blushes rising upon their cheeks. Ion looked about from person to person, confusion of the situation evident.

"What exactly is going on?" He finally decided to ask.

"Well," Father Vaclav answered, "Mistletoe is usually placed above doorways, and if two people happen to walk underneath it at once, they typically have to kiss."

Ion's eyes widened as he looked from the priest to nun standing next to him, both of whom had turned a darker red. Suddenly, an idea struck the young Methuselah noble. He whispered the idea to the priest and nun, and they smiled and nodded their agreement.

Abel kissed Esther on her right cheek, while Ion planted a kiss on her left.


	14. Nutcracker

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida. The ballet _The Nutcracker_ was also not created by me.

I actually had two ideas for the letter N, but I liked this one better.

**

* * *

N**utcracker

Esther's mission was simple: protect the Pope at all costs. She didn't mind this assignment too much, since Pope Alessandro XVIII was nice and Abel was also guarding him undercover. Not to mention that she would be able to see such a classic ballet like _The Nutcracker_ while on her mission.

She and the Pope, along with Caterina, made their way to their seats in the VIP box, which was highly decorated for Christmas. During the waiting period before the show began, Esther's mind briefly fluttered to the thought of where Father Nightroad was hiding undercover. Perhaps he was one of the theater's many ushers or security personnel, or…

The orchestra finished warming up, and soon the show was underway. Esther's thoughts of the priest went unnoticed as she watched both the beautiful performance and the young pope's reaction to it. He seemed to be untroubled, forgetting all about his brother and his duties.

It wasn't until the scene with the battle of the Mouse King when her thoughts of the priest came back to her.

It was unmistakably him; though at first glance one could easily assume that he was someone else entirely. His silver hair cascaded down his back, left liberated from the usual confines of his black ribbon. He was missing his glasses, but he seemed to do rather well without them. He wore a bright red soldier's hat adorned with ribbons of sparkling gold, and his shirt matched the hat in both color and design. Tight black pants, more like leggings, hugged well-defined but slim muscles in his legs.

Esther looked to Caterina, though her expression indicated that she too had no knowledge of Abel's cover.

His movements were flawless and beautiful, quite unlike the usual clumsy priest he typically was.

If he had known of this…he was going to be dead when Caterina was through with him.

The crowd was nonetheless oblivious to the covert mission, too enthralled with the priest's performance to care that he was not the performer the program had listed. He had been accepted by the peanut gallery, and it looked to Esther that he enjoyed every minute of it.

When it came to the final curtain call, Esther saw that he really was enjoying himself in the spotlight. The nun's attention was then caught by the sight of the Cardinal's hand gripping the armrest tightly. Abel Nightroad was most certainly going to die…

* * *

"I thought we'd agreed on something discreet!"

The silver-haired man flinched as the Cardinal scolded him, her eyes glinting with rage. Her hand gripped the headlines of that morning's paper, which asked the question: Who was that mysterious sliver-haired dancer who played the part of the nutcracker?

"I was discreet…well, up until I accidentally knocked the star unconscious. They threatened to have me kicked out and arrested unless I found someone who could substitute for the guy." Abel argued in defense.

"So _you_ chose to perform?" Her question was filled with venom.

Abel scratched the back of his neck. "I was unaware that anyone else in the AX had six years of ballet training under his belt besides me."

She sent him away, shaking her head in disbelief. Yet again many questions had arisen in the wake of Abel's performance; questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answers to.


	15. Ornaments

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Today's letter **(December 15****th** is O.

**

* * *

O**rnaments

Esther smiled as she pulled the many ornaments out of the shoebox in front of her. She had always loved this aspect of Christmas since she was little and the Bishop had allowed her to help decorate the tree every year. It was because of the majority of the ornaments she was pulling out that Esther no longer despised looking at Christmas trees.

She hung a red ornament in the shape of an angel bowed in prayer. She had gotten that one from Cardinal Caterina the Christmas after she had joined the AX. The back had an inscription of the exact date she had joined.

The next one was a blue one in the shape of a teacup. She had received it from the Professor, since the two of them often enjoyed the same type of Sister Kate's herbal teas. Likewise, Sister Kate had given a pink ornament shaped like a teakettle to the novice member.

She had gotten a green one in the shape of a bell from Sister Noelle, possibly the only one which made Esther a bit sad looking at it. Bells, or at least sound, had ironically cut the nun's life short months later.

Tres had given a golden sheep-shaped one, though the nun wasn't sure if it had been Tres' doing or if he had been instructed to do so by another AX member.

Father Havel had given a white dove ornament, telling her that peace was the goal in all their efforts. Father Leon's was a black sheep, and he admitted to choosing the color based on the fact that Esther would look stunning in black (He had consequently been hit).

There were a few more which brought back fun memories with the group, such as the ones that held pictures of her and her friends; another that had been given to her by Ion involved the two with ice cream all over their faces.

Finally, the redheaded sister sat back and looked upon her handiwork. The only one she didn't receive an ornament from was Father Nightroad, who had not been there for Christmas or the months after the holiday.

A small sound startled her, and she turned to see the sliver-haired priest place yet another ornament upon the tree. It was a clear star with a blue center, which sparkled and glinted in the light.

"I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to give this to you."


	16. Presents

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

I present to you, letter P.

**

* * *

P**resents

Kate always had trouble with this part of Christmas. It wasn't due to the fact that, as a hologram, she couldn't be seen in the public eye or carry her own presents; she found ways of getting around that little problem. She typically "possessed" Tres or asked one of the others to do her shopping for her. She had been doing that for years so she was used to it by now and had worked out almost all of the kinks.

Her main concern was what to get her friends, despite the fact that they all had decided five years ago to buy gag gifts for one another.

Today's willing host, as it usually was around the holiday, was Tres. She controlled his body to visit each and every store within Rome in order to find decent presents.

Her first stop was the bookstore, where she hoped to find a gift for at least one person. She, in the android's body, paused along the shelves in the romance novel section and scanned the titles and covers of the books. Many of the pictures on the front involved a well-muscled man with little to no shirt on holding a beautiful, scantily-clad woman; both people had eyes half-lidded with passion as they stared at each other's abnormally perfect face.

She picked up one that had a jungle man resembling Leon, but wearing nothing but a leopard-print loincloth. A beautiful cultured woman held his arm back, as he looked as if he was about to attack something out of the scene. _Jungle Fever: Heart of the Wild Man_, Kate read. Something like this cheesy novel was bound to get a good laugh from Cardinal Caterina.

Next she found herself and Tres in the self-help department, and once again she found the right gift in little time.

It was a medium-sized book entitled _Data Dump: One-Hundred and One Usages for Shoe Polish._ It seemed like a reasonable gift for William, who oftentimes found the strangest usages for common items; though he didn't use or even have shoe polish.

Kate paid for the books and left, passing in front of the magazine rack. She previously instructed the Professor to subscribe Tres to one of the "girly" periodicals. After all, Tres was always running out of magazines…

…They were handgun magazines, sure, but the play on words was just too good to pass up.

Sister Kate headed towards the candy shop, but found herself distracted by the nearby clothing vendor. A pair of boxers with huge owl eyes on the back and the words "Hoot Stuff" stamped on them caught her eye. The size was just perfect for Leon.

Kate's final stop was at the candy store, where row upon row of candy, as well as the ingredients for her famous tea, could be found. She immediately thought of how Father Abel disliked the spicy jawbreakers out of all candy. They were the only type of candy he loathed and almost never touched. She inwardly smirked as she put a large box of these spicy candies into her basket.

She chuckled a bit when she added a candy thong for Father Havel, thinking of the reaction the prudish priest would have when he opened the gift.

Hugue got coal--candy coal--because his disregard of Caterina's orders during the past few months had been extreme, but Kate felt guilty about giving the blonde priest nothing at all.

Finally, Kate picked up her assortment of tea ingredients and a small glass jar for Esther. Though most of the others knew of the gag gift arrangement, Kate didn't want to offend the new recruit by presenting her with a silly gift. A container of the young nun's favorite tea would be a perfect gift.

* * *

Kate relaxed a bit as she disconnected from Tres's body, giving up control to the android priest once again. She was glad that he didn't inquire on her choice of gag gifts, seeing as how the priest had been informed of the arrangement ahead of time.

"Permission requested to wrap the gifts my lady has obtained." Tres stated. He was always willing to help her out, and for that Kate was relieved.


	17. Quiet

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Q was one of the most difficult letters to deal with…But the idea seems like it could be expanded into something more. It is a little disturbing compared to many of the others.

**

* * *

Q**uiet

Abel stared straight ahead, his eyes unfocused upon the scenes of carnage in front of him.

People's bodies covered the once pristine snow, the white precipitation now covered in large spatters of blood and gore. Houses burned and the scorching heat of these many structures contrasted to the winter temperatures and warmed the Crusnik's cheeks. There were fewer and fewer cries and pleads of mercy as his two siblings tracked down and slaughtered the survivors.

The silver-haired man felt hollow, isolated from the horror that had occurred around him--

--_because of him_, he remembered this as he looked down apathetically at his blood-coated hands, dried blood caked underneath his nails.

He remembered, during the chaos he had been filled with unbearable and all-consuming rage as many humans and human families fell by his own hands. The humans' screams of fear and suffering as they watched their loved ones die--watched themselves die--still rang in his ears as if it still were happening in front of him. He had laughed and he had enjoyed their pain; he reveled in it.

But now…

Now the pleasure had left him emptier than he had ever been in his life. His feelings had returned as the nanomachines slowly relinquished their hold upon him, and a new sickly feeling seeped into his very core.

Ignoring his approaching siblings, he ran away from it all--the ruined Christmas trees and Christmas decorations around him, the gutted and the burning buildings, and the many corpses of the newly dead. He ran blindly, not stopping until he slipped in the snow and vomited.

The sight of those unfortunate bodies in his eyes and the thoughts of what he'd helped do made him sick and haunted him to the core of his being. For the first time in his life he truly doubted his feelings towards these seemingly insignificant beings. Had Lilith been right? Was he truly such a heartless monster who would kill? Worst of all, had he been wrong about himself and his "moral code" all this time?

Abel felt the comforting weight of his brother's hand on his back, and the other hand held his long hair as he was sick again. He could feel Seth's worry as she stood farther back from the two.

Cain waited until Abel was done before speaking; rubbing the silver-haired man's back even after the nausea subsided.

"Its okay brother; it was your first time killing. It gets easier each time." Abel sighed heavily, catching the scent of smoke in the other's clothes, and stood up.

It had gotten so quiet in the town.


	18. Reindeer

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida. The reindeers' names and the movie _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ belong to their respective owners.

**

* * *

R**eindeer

Seth watched as Lilith pressed several buttons on the console, the screen flickering a bit before the movie began.

"What is this?" The small girl questioned, the older redhead sitting down next to her. Lilith pulled the black-haired Seth into her lap just as the title flickered across the screen: _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_. Seth soon forgot her question, and ignored Lilith's response, as she was drawn into the world of singing snowmen and cute little reindeer.

Seth absorbed every aspect of that moment: Lilith's bath soap, the beautiful songs, and the way Rudolph took all the abuses the other reindeer threw at him.

Seth became sad when Santa, the other reindeer, and even his parents made Rudolph's nose into a bad and ugly thing. They looked down upon the reindeer's uniqueness as something evil. Though Seth was young and didn't know it yet, her sympathy with the creature was shared, as she too was looked upon as something foreign because of how she was born.

She felt better when Rudolph made better friends, such as the elf who was also looked down upon because he wished to break with the traditional elf role at the North Pole, the misfit toys, and the strange treasure-seeker who sought silver and gold. They were a lot like Seth's "siblings", who were misfits much like her.

When the movie was done, the small child had completely gotten over the fact that the movie had saddened her; the other reindeer and Santa had accepted his differences and Rudolph was a proud member of Santa's team. She looked up into Lilith's face, only to find a seemingly plastic smile as the redhead watched the credits sadly…

* * *

Years later, Seth finally understood the meaning behind her mother figure's empty smile. She understood how attitudes had changes when they realized that Rudolph had something to offer the society of reindeer. Rudolph was used, just as the scientists had intended to use them as well. Lilith had known all along that, had they or Rudolph not provided the necessary service, they too would never have been accepted.

How was it that Lilith supported the humans, then?


	19. Snow

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

I've been meaning to update earlier today, but we suffered a power outage for a good part of the evening.

**

* * *

S**now

Esther dodged the snowball as it hurtled towards her body. She landed on her back in the snow, carefully hidden and protected by the snowman and snow wall she had made. The snowman's rocky eyes stared straight at her opponent.

"You can't hide from me forever…" The voice teased, another snowball crashing into the tree trunk behind her. Residual flakes dusted her thick layers of clothing as she quickly gathered enough snow for more ammunition. She readied her shot, took aim, and…

"You missed me Esther!"

Esther ducked again, throwing yet another snowball blindly over her shoulder. She hoped she had hit her opponent in some way as she grabbed another fistful of snow between gloved hands. She heard the crunch of the snow beneath heavy steel-toed boots and she turned in time to see the tall priest standing over her. A small splattering of snow against his chest indicated that Esther had indeed made contact with that last throw.

His smile showed that he would bide his time, waiting until she had gathered another snowball before he threw his.

It was then she noted a somewhat large clump of snow sitting innocently off to the side of Esther's head. She could take the chance, using both arms to hurl the clump at the priest, or she could choose to let her guard down long enough to make another and hope that he really wouldn't hit her.

With a small laugh, she twisted her body and grabbed the ball, throwing it straightly at his head--

--only to have both her laugh and his smile fade as the ball collided somewhere other than his chest.

* * *

Kate sighed as Tres carried the limp and pain-plagued priest in his arms, a very mortified Sister Esther muttering a thousand apologies not too far behind the two.

"Honestly Father Nightroad, when will you ever learn?"


	20. Trees

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

Cain is such a tree snob…

**

* * *

T**ree

"Have we found a tree yet?"

The bored sound of Cain's voice cut through the chilly night air. The two in front of him debated ignoring him, but the thought of being ripped apart was not particularly exciting.

Kampfer stared up at the next tree he saw. "How about this one, my lord?"

The blonde passed by the Puppet Master and the Magician, walking in a slow path around the pine. He took great note of the tree's needles and branches, as well as its size. He frowned after his inspection.

"Overall, I'd say it's a very poor-looking tree. It looks like something a dog chewed on."

Dietrich was the next to pick out a tree. It was much taller than the last tree, and seemed much healthier in comparison. "Would this one do?"

Cain took one look at the suggested tree and scoffed. "A spruce? Are you even trying?"

The next tree picked out, a Nordmann fir, also earned the same distain from the RCO leader, who insisted that the tree was "quite obviously trying too hard to impress people". Dietrich twitched at that response.

It was only a tree, after all.

Cain drifted farther away from his underlings, earning exasperated sighs from the two men as he degraded every single tree that caught his eye within the tree lot. He seemed more like a caustic musical critic than a tree connoisseur as his remarks flew from his lips.

"That one is just plain ugly…that one doesn't even try…ugh! That one tries _too_ hard!"

Dietrich flexed his fingers, fighting the urge to strangle his leader right then and there for being a tree snob. Self-preservation was the only thing stopping him from doing so.

Finally, the blonde Crusnik's eyes lit up as he pointed in the direction of his ideal tree.

"Now _that_ is what I call a perfect tree!" Both the Puppeteer and Kampfer's eyes widened in shock as their leader's finger pointed out of the safety of the tree lot into the woods, all the way at the top of a very tall fir tree. Kampfer smiled as his eyes trained on Dietrich.

"How thoughtful of you to volunteer to go get that tree!" He mock-gushed and shoved the young man towards the woods. It was obvious that the Puppet Master, the poor servant of his master's every whim, would be expected to cut the top seven feet from his master's selected prize.

Dietrich glared at his smirking mentor and his exuberantly happy master.

_I'd like to take that tree and stick it right up his-- _

Dietrich walked into a tree.


	21. Universal

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

With only one day left until Christmas morning, I still find myself four days behind on this fic.

**

* * *

U**niversal

Lilith sighed as she looked down at her tea; the people across the planet celebrated Christmas together with not just their friends and family, but with other people around the world. They were united in their beliefs despite any other differences they may have had in culture or language. She hoped that this would be enough in the looming battle for survival that she knew was fast approaching.

Her fellow "siblings"…how she longed to feel that unity among all four of them.

She had tried to let Abel see the part of him that was forced to hide beneath a façade of coldness and sharp tongue. Her plan had been halted by the infusion of the Crusnik nanomachines on the Martian lands the colonists failed to occupy.

She admitted to herself now that perhaps it had all been her own mind attempting to create her own new world order--a place where she had the family she'd secretly wished for alongside the Nightroad siblings all this time. It seemed as if all those mid-20th century TV shows dealing with the "perfect" family had influenced her ideas on the family life she craved.

Lilith sometimes used to picture herself as the mother: respected and loved like Mrs. Brady. Cain and Abel were the perfect sons, and cute little Seth was the little sister.

These ideas changed when her knowledge of classic television shows improved, and her feelings toward the other three shifted a bit. She started to see Abel in a new light--like the misunderstood male figure in many movies and shows. This led to somewhat far-fetched images where she and _Abel_ were the parents trying to raise the younger Seth, with the interference from the eccentric uncle-figure Cain constantly causing problems.

Now the redheaded woman chuckled a bit at these thoughts. Her actions when she was younger embarrassed her sometimes; how naïve she had been when dealing with the ideas of sappy movies and sitcoms applying to her life. But she had been young and foolish into thinking that she could change someone into the perfect son or spouse.

Despite all this, she still craved the unity associated with family life. Even if the other three could never be biologically related to her, she still wanted them all to at least be able to celebrate holidays and other important events together.

It was the reason she often found herself envying the people on Earth for their ability to share at least some sort of common ideas which united them as one.


	22. Vest

Disclaimer: Sunao Yoshida created Trinity Blood.

This takes place prior to the Silent Noise incident.

**

* * *

V**est

The time had finally arrived; the time most anticipated by even the most pious individual.

It was time to open presents.

The members of AX had decided to hold their little present exchange in Cardinal Caterina's office, where tea and hot chocolate would be served. This year's gift giving theme had been a "Secret Santa"-type affair, in which each agent was assigned a person to surprise on Christmas with a gift (though gifts to other people were allowed, they had to be given elsewhere to protect the others' feelings).

Havel hung back from the group after giving his gift to Noelle; the others exchanged gifts to each other. Some of them were funny, such as Leon's gift to Abel ("Just what is so funny about giving me a bra? What are you implying?"), while ones like Tres' gift to Caterina were more practical (a new stack of paper after an incident involving Abel).

The black-haired priest watched as Caterina gave a new book to the Professor, Tres received some new upgrades from Kate; William gave a booklet of coupons to Kate which could be exchanged for the prevention of dangerous explosions resulting from bad experiments.

Leon got another gag gift from Hugue: a Santa cutout which Hugue insisted was highly flammable and could be burned in effigy by the burly convict. Abel presented his gift to Esther; something which Havel was sure cost him at least a year's salary. It was a beautiful photo album which already held some memorable pictures inside.

Finally, Havel realized that there was only his gift left to go. Presented the package by the red-haired nun ("I hope you like it, Father Havel,"), the priest carefully removed the red wrapping paper from the object, revealing that he now was the proud owner of…a brand new vest.

Upon inspection of the vest, he secretly deemed it the tackiest thing he'd ever had the misfortune to see. It was bright red, with little elves ice skating around demented snowmen. Havel was at a loss for words.

He smiled awkwardly and hoped that Esther didn't take it the wrong way.

"Thank you very much…I just love it."

The other members of AX agreed with his comment whole-heartedly, making Havel think that something must have happened to their brains during all their missions and assassination attempts. No one could possibly find these things remotely decent to wear; they weren't even passable as cute. At least he had preserved the self-esteem of the new novice.

Esther looked at him expectantly and with a sinking feeling, Havel realized that she expected him to try it on right then and there. He sighed quietly, and resigned himself to removing his cloak and pulling on the hideous eyesore.

The compliments he received for his trouble only steeled his resolve: the vest was going to "accidentally" get burned up in one of the Professor's many disasters.

They all sat in silence once the compliments died down, the black-haired man looking from person to person. His eyes caught on the young sister's lips as they twitched, and upon further observation found that all the rest except Tres seemed to be fighting back laughter.

Esther cracked first.

"You look ridiculous!" She laughed, soon followed by everyone except the android. Havel blushed in embarrassment as he realized that yet another gag gift had been sent.


	23. Wassail

Disclaimer: Sunao Yoshida created Trinity Blood. I own neither the original Christmas song nor the assorted parodies of it.

Credit goes to InuJoey for the idea and certain aspects of the song.

**

* * *

W**assail

A few days before Christmas found Leon drunk.

He, along with the other men from the AX, had decided that caroling was in order for the celebration of the holidays. He managed to drag along the reluctant Abel by telling the silver-haired priest that they would be bringing Christmas cheer into the hearts of many, and by promising many things sweet along the way.

The Professor, Vaclav, and Hugue walked in the front, arguing over the next song to be sung. Behind them walked the shivering Abel and eager Leon, who held a mysterious thermos of liquid in his hands. Tres followed them from behind, under strict orders from Caterina to prevent the group from doing anything stupid or dangerous.

Leon took a sip from the thermos, and then held it out so that Abel could drink. He smiled at Abel's reluctance.

"It isn't going to kill you, Four-Eyes."

"But what exactly is it?"

Leon shook the container a bit, his expression casual. "Why, it's only warm cider with spices and sugar and other things in it."

The burly priest chose his words correctly; the other priest predictably jumping at the chance for anything warm and sweet. The silver-haired priest sipped the drink, sputtering at the taste.

"Cider, you say?" He asked incredulously. Leon merely shrugged. "Technically its ale, but the whole drink is wassail, as happens to be the only warm drink for miles."

Abel refused to drink any more of the wassail, clearly remembering his last run-in with anything alcoholic. Leon, obviously a little disappointed with the fact that he couldn't get the other priest to loosen up, decided not to waste perfectly good alcohol.

* * *

"'Jingle bells, Francisco smells, some other dude laid an egg!'" About an hour later, the off-key crooning indicated that Leon had succeeded in getting drunk yet again.

"Wait; wait, I've gotten something better: 'Jingle bells, Francisco smells, the RCO has a plot,'…I'm not sure what should go next…Abel, you're a swell guy. Tell me what should go next."

By this time, the drunken convict had draped an arm around the thinner man. His alcohol-infused breath hit Abel in the face, causing more discomfort for the younger-looking priest. Before the silver-haired man had a chance to answer, Leon had a revelation.

"You know what? From this angle, you look like a pretty cute girl."

Abel squeaked as the other AX member continued to invade his personal space and give a good squeeze to his butt.

"Tres, please stop him." The priest whimpered.

Tres finally stepped in. "Father Leon, your actions tonight show disregard towards Papal Regulations. Desist before immediate action is taken."

Leon backed off. Even when drunk he knew when to quit.


	24. Xmas

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

**

* * *

X**mas

Abel was full of surprises.

The blonde Cardinal watched as the silver-haired priest tossed snowballs and laughed with Sister Esther in the courtyard outside. His actions differed greatly to how he had been an hour earlier upon his return from the empire: glum with eyes downcast. Caterina was happy that he had cheered up within the past hour, but she couldn't help but find it odd that he could drastically change within such a short period of time.

She admitted; she actually knew little more than anyone else did about the mysterious man who had saved her many years ago. What she did know and found out oftentimes only added more questions about who and what he was.

Caterina had known of the Crusnik; it had been obvious that something was odd about the way he had survived the vampires--Methuselahs-- who had chased her. She knew that the woman he had been mourning over had been of great importance to him. And she also knew that he had more layers to him that seemingly possible.

Over the years she managed to glean a few bits of information about him, the most recently being his knowledge of ballet as well as several extremely archaic languages. He loved dark literature, had several extremely odd bedtime rituals, and surprisingly disliked small spaces.

She had found out about his interest in the ancient Greek language as she looked over the report he had given her after his stunning performance in "The Nutcracker".

* * *

"What is this suppose to stand for?"

The priest sat up, quirking an eyebrow up in confusion. "What does what stand for?"

She turned her cold gaze behind her monocle on him. She set the papers down and pointed to one word in particular…one abbreviation that was not meant to make the final cut of Abel's report.

"Oh that. Why that's an abbreviation for 'Christmas'. It used to exist many decades ago."

She gave him a look that meant, _are you kidding me?_ And just like that, he went on with his explanation.

"The X came from the Greek letter for 'Chi', and was the abbreviation for 'Christ' during the first couple of hundred of years of the Church's history."

"I see."

* * *

While her initial question had been sated, a whole slew of more had been raised. That type of knowledge had been discontinued among the lower level of Church authority and the average person centuries ago; Abel's fellow priests didn't even know that bit of information. She knew he was old despite his body never showing signs of aging, and had once thought of him as a vampire because of this.

She didn't fear him; she could never fear someone as gentle and kind as he, but that thought had stayed with her until he had told her about the Crusnik.

So he must have been at least several centuries old to know that, although he'd always refused to state his true age. Now she could add this assumption, as well as the fact that he knew something of the Greek language, to the ever-growing list of things that characterized Abel. But she also had to add many more questions to her mental list as well.

Caterina gave a soft growl as she closed her eyes. Even when he wasn't in the room, he still managed to give her a headache.


	25. Yuletide

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida.

**

* * *

Y**uletide

William raised his tired eyes from the weathered book in his lap, looking into the flickering flames without actually seeing anything. He didn't hear the howling winds outside his window that carried stinging snowflakes with them. His eyes, surrounded by crow's feet, watered a bit from the fire's heat and from his memories.

It was Christmas Eve when he had proposed to her…

She, his beautiful girlfriend, had accepted. He had never been happier in his life; he would always remember that day as the best Christmas Eve he'd ever had.

When she had been killed…the once-happy time in his life had been reduced to a painful reminder of what could have been. All his yuletide dreams were shattered...

"Professor?"

He turned his head, seeing the seemingly ghostlike face of Abel in the doorway. The silver-haired man looked concerned. "You seemed distracted in the halls today. Are you okay?"

The Professor turned his head to look out the window, unconsciously reaching for the pipe in his pocket. He debated to himself about telling Abel about what was going on. He felt that it was his own problem…but he felt as if he needed to get this off his chest. He turned to look back into Abel's blue eyes as he indicated for the other priest to sit down.

He felt somehow that Abel perhaps empathized with his situation, despite knowing little about the Crusnik.

"It's a story of love and loss…"

The look in those blue eyes told him that Abel did indeed have the same issue.


	26. Zebra

Disclaimer: Trinity Blood was created by Sunao Yoshida. I do not own the song that this chapter is based on; the one about the kid wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas.

Here it is: the final chapter of this fanfiction. Many thanks go to all those willing to read this despite my lateness.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

**

* * *

Z**ebra

She wanted a zebra.

How was he supposed to get her a zebra for Christmas when they were miles above the Earth? She might as well have asked for expensive jewelry or a huge diamond while she was at it.

Abel sunk against the pillow, wondering many things. He wondered why Seth wanted a zebra to begin with. He wondered why he was even doing this stupid Christmas present exchange in the first place.

_Oh yes, Lilith…_

The young teenager pulled the small box out from under his pillow. Behind the cheap plastic window a black toy horse stared at him mockingly, rubbing the fact that it wasn't a zebra in his face. He had spent every last penny in order to have that stupid toy shipped up here with the last supply shuttle, thinking that Seth was still into horses.

But she had decided that _zebras_ were more her thing, as many young children often changed their minds.

How was he supposed to give her a zebra when he had no money left?

He thought about asking Cain about what he should do, but decided not to. Cain might have him do something embarrassing in exchange for an idea that might not work. He couldn't ask Lilith because she was with Seth. And he certainly couldn't ask anyone else--no one would trust someone as negative as he normally was.

Abel threw the box across the room he shared with Cain, letting it smash into the wall with a frown on his face.

_Stupid human traditions…_ He growled in his mind. He was about to leave when something caught his eye.

A small bottle of waterproof whiteout sat on Cain's bed. Having fallen out of the other teen's bag when he dropped off his books earlier, it had the gears in Abel's head turning. He would need to pay Cain back for this later, but…

* * *

The silver-haired teen was nowhere to be found as the presents had long since been unwrapped. Lilith seemed a little mad that he had decided not to attend the function after all, though she barely let this show as she helped Cain and a few others clean up.

Cain noticed him just as Lilith did, already steeling himself for the scolding that was about to take place.

She had no chance at all to get very far, Abel completely ignoring her to walk over to the little black-haired girl playing with the leftover ribbons. She stopped when Abel kneeled down next to her, his hands hidden from her behind his back.

Both Lilith and Cain looked shocked at the gift he held, which had now been revealed to a very happy Seth.

It was a horse, completely painted with stripes of whiteout fluid to look just like a zebra.


End file.
